Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Statement by the press secretary on legislation to ban insider trading by members of Congress
From the White House on insider trading legislation for Congress. And the Senate will vote on it.

Home News Tribune: Change campaign finance laws
Letter from New Jersey calls for Fair Elections, amendment, etc. "I feel changing the way our politicians’ campaigns are funded is the first step to addressing all the myriad of problems our country is facing."

FDL: House Democrats ready new version of DISCLOSE Act
David Dayen at FireDogLake looks at the new DISCLOSE act.

Yes! Magazine: How to reverse the courporate coup d'Etat
"Chris Hedges and Lawrence Lessig discuss the Occupy movement, Citizens United, and our best options for real reform."

NY Review of Books: Can we have a democratic election?
Interesting piece from Elizabeth Drew on the solutions to our broken political system. Read it when you have a few extra minutes!

Congress/2012
CRP: Lobbying expenditures slump in 2011
"The nation’s economy may be slowly rebounding, but during 2011, the economic engine of K Street sputtered. Overall expenditures on lobbying were down for the first time in more than a decade, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics." Washington Post and The Hill have more.

NYT: So who's a lobbyist?
"Under the federal lobbying law, Newt Gingrich can legitimately claim that he is not a lobbyist. That alone demonstrates how much the law needs to be changed."

LA Times: Romney tax returns detail funds not identified in ethics forms
Blockbuster story from the LA Times: "Some investments listed in Mitt and Ann Romney’s 2010 tax returns – including a now-closed Swiss bank account and other funds located overseas – were not explicitly disclosed in the personal financial statement the GOP presidential hopeful filed in August as part of his White House bid." Globe story on the hedge funds that "lift Romney's income"

AP: European anti-corruption body warns US on political financing
Hmm: "A top European anti-corruption body wants the U.S. to increase transparency of political funding through outside groups that donate millions to support candidates, warning that they could be used to skirt long-established disclosure rules."

USA Today: For-profit colleges are no answer to high tuition
"Out on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney is recommending for-profit colleges as an answer to rising tuition. At least once he has lauded a particular institution, Florida-based Full Sail University, which is run by a major campaign donor."

CNN: Super PACs' money could tip balance of power in Congress
"The 2010 Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited contributions by corporations and unions has already affected the 2012 presidential campaign. But it could play a larger part in the balance of power in Congress this fall."

USA Today: Pro-Mitt Romney super PAC seems to parralel his campaign
"The similarity is not a coincidence. Although super PACs are supposed to be 'outside' groups, they seldom are. Staffed by former staff and funded by supporters of the candidate, they're essentially doing the same job from a different address. Like two chefs making the same recipe, the campaign and the super PACs not only use the same ingredients, they used to work in the same kitchen." Featuring Gabriela Schneider at Sunlight!

Bloomberg: Gingrich jab at Goldman Sachs belies pro-bank policy proposals
On Newt's criticism of Wall Street, etc: "Yet the investment firm Gingrich derided and the banking industry as a whole stand to gain from his proposals to eliminate the capital gains tax and repeal two financial-sector measures, four analysts said in separate phone interviews."

Forbes: Sheldon Adelson could give $1 billion to Gingrich and not notice
On Adelson's giving: "He could give $1 billion away, 5% of his net worth, and not even notice."

Politico: Santorum benefactor Friess isn't done giving
Good news for Santorum: "Wyoming billionaire Foster Friess plans to keep directing money toward the super PAC supporting his campaign."

Voices of San Diego: Duke to Newt: I've got your back
Heh: "Jailed ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham wants Newt Gingrich to know he's got the Republican presidential candidate's back."

NYT: The long run - Gingrich stuck to castic path in ethics battle
Must read on Gingrich's time in the House.

NYT: Big victory on internet buoys lobby
"The unlikely coalition of companies and consumer groups that last week helped quash antipiracy legislation on Capitol Hill is now weighing the future of what might be called lobbying 2.0. Can the Internet industry, along with legions of newly politicized Web users, be a new force in Washington? And if so, what else can they all agree upon?"

Courier-Journal: A pact to applaud
Praise from Kentucky for the Warren-Brown pact: "Americans who have been knocked sideways and senseless by the worst that money can buy must hope the Massachusetts example is successful and precedent-setting." The LA Times likes it too. A related column in the Salem News.

National Journal: Gingrich's health center was power player in a host of Washington policy debates
"Newt Gingrich’s Washington-based advocacy on behalf of a broad array of health care interests has been far more extensive than the Republican presidential candidate has acknowledged, a review by the Center for Public Integrity has found."

TPM: Controversial Tea Party PAC sets up own super PAC
"It seems the people affiliated with the Our Country Deserves Better PAC (a.k.a. the Tea Party Express PAC) — known for sending much of its money to the GOP consulting firm that created it — wants to get on the “super PAC” bandwagon."

Orlando Sentinel: Pro-Romney super PAC buys $5 million more in Florida
"Restore Our Future, the super PAC backing Mitt Romney, has purchased another $5 million worth of TV time in Florida for the last week of the primary season, starting with last night. The buy is on top of the $4 million that Restore Our Future bought on Florida TV during the previous six weeks." But the Newt super PAC has a brutal new ad, too.

The Hill: Doctors lobby urges GOP to halt new insurance codes
"The largest physicians lobby has sent House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) a letter urging him to halt a federal requirement forcing doctors to switch to new insurance codes in 2013."

TPM: Former New York Post publisher funded Herman Cain super PAC
"The 'super PAC' formed by former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain after he dropped out of the presidential race was fueled by just one $50,000 donation from a top Republican donor who used to own and publish the New York Post, according to a just disclosed Federal Election Commission report."

Other/States
Maine's Clean Elections Act works, and deserves support
Yes! "However, for Maine to continue to lead, policymakers in Augusta must take the steps necessary to update Clean Elections after the Supreme Court effectively struck down one aspect of it earlier this year. Unfortunately, some members of the legislature see this as an opportunity to diminish the system, and have recommended doing nothing to ensure its continued success."

U.S. Chamber, no "guardian angel," targeted this state
Nice column from Mississippi criticizing the U.S. Chamber for getting involved in a Supreme Court race there: "For the chamber to aim its juggernaut at little Mississippi - a state heavily inhabited by the poor - deserves to be branded for what it was: attempted takeover of our democratic electoral system."

Kansas City Star: Group pushing Missouri tax change gets $1.2 million
"A group pushing to replace Missouri's income tax with a broader sales tax said Thursday it has received a million-dollar contribution from a prominent Missouri businessman."

Politico: Two more of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's ex-aides charged
"Two former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were charged Thursday with allegedly doing political fundraising while working on taxpayer time in the Milwaukee County Executive’s office when he ran it."